…is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. –JD Salinger, “Catcher in the Rye”

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Robert Langdon is once again unraveling the well-guarded secrets of an ancient and highly-influental order whilst being stalked by a violent white dude. This time it’s Freemasons in Washington, DC.

I know I am supposed to be above Dan Brown, but I do find the Robert Langdon books enjoyable. They are fast, they make you feel smart and smug, and they are many pages. And if you are a page-counter like me, fast, long books are what it is all about.

This isn’t my most recently read book, but I just noticed that I forgot to record it. Possibly out of shame.

Okay, so after catching part of the movie, I caved and read it– partly because I wondered how all the exposition happened in the book. The answer: annoyingly. Listen, buddy, if you are accused of murder and trying to find the Holy fucking Grail, maybe you should just tell the woman who is helping you (1) not to get thrown in a terrifying French prison (2) find said fucking Grail whatever you know that you think might be relevant and not wait for when it will be more dramatic.

But that’s just a suggestion.

This book was interesting, in a sort of uniquely US American way. US Americans like things that make us feel smart, that have all sorts of history and hopefully conspiracy, and provide more or less instant gratification. This does all those things. For the past few weeks, I have had to restrain myself from talking about the blade and chalice in my Sexuality and Relationships in Christian Religions class. Lest I embarrass myself.